When insulation is to be applied to a wire, the wire is fed from a spool to an accumulating device and then into a crosshead device having tooling including a die which guides or positions the wire so that one or more layers of insulating material can be applied thereto. A crosshead device which is useful in such applications is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,954, commonly assigned to the assignee of the present invention, the teachings of which patent are incorporated herein by reference.
In passing a wire through a crosshead device for the application of insulation, it is very important that the wire be properly oriented within the die of the tooling so that a layer or layers of insulation are applied having a uniform circumferential distribution or concentricity about the wire. Such proper orientation of the wire is achieved by applying a proper tension on the wire such that it passes through the center of the die in the tooling of the crosshead device. Slack or sagging of the wire as it passes through the crosshead device results in improper alignment of the wire relative to the insulation applying portions of the crosshead device. As a result, a non-uniform distribution of coating of insulation is applied.